Dark Life - Book 3
by Daniella Sanchez
Summary: (the continuation of the dark life series. The story continues from after the book RipTide on the Dark Life series.) Two weeks have past since Ty and Gemma found ty's parents. (in the second book of Dark Life, RipTide.) the wealth and the government want the pioneers to go topside so they can inspect the subsea and make sure it's safe. But is something odd going on?
1. News

I tried to sign to Gemma to go back in the sub but she gave up trying to learn sign language as soon as she moved back in with us. It's only been 2 weeks since we found my parents so I've been wanting to spend as much time with them as possible. That's why I wanted to go back so soon.

I went through the hatch and I beckoned Gemma to come too. We both sucked in oxygen to try and evaporate the liquidgen.

"Why do we have to go back so soon?" She asked as soon as the liquidgen evaporated.

"I want to spend time with my parents"

She rolled her eyes and smiled "I understand you want to see your parents, but we've barely gone diving and as soon as we do, you want to go back already"

I knew she was right. But I felt like I owed it to my parents. After thinking they were gone, I've just wanted to spend as much time as possible with them.

I parked the sub near the moon pool. Gemma and I swam up and got to the house. That's when I noticed ma and pa standing there, waiting for us. Worry washed through me when I saw their faces of solemnly. Gemma stood next to me and I could tell she was worried too.

"Is anything wrong?" I asked

Ma smiled but we both knew it was fake.

"Everything is alright but .. We just need to talk with you guys for a minute."

Ma beckoned Gemma and I to come inside and sit on the couch, we followed. I felt Gemma touch my arm and whisper by my ear, "Everything will be alright, don't worry. They probably just want to have a small family meeting"

That's when I noticed Zoe already siting on the couch. "Last time they called me out like this was when ma found out she was pregnant with Zoe", I whispered back. Gemma stayed quiet after that.

"The wealth' and the government have decided that they wanted to inspect benthic territory and make sure it's a safe environment and that it's safe for people to live in," Pa said

"How is that bad?" Even though ma or Pa didn't say it was bad, I knew that something had to be going on since they looked so serious.

"Well,..they want us to go topside" Ma said slowly. "But only for a couple of days" Ma added quickly once she saw my expression.

I sat up quickly. A million feelings swept through me. Anger, sadness, worry, confusion..

"Why do we have to go topside? Why after 15 years will they choose now to inspect benthic territory? Why would the wealth want to go inside our homes?" Questions just kept flowing through my head. I tried hard not to raise my voice on my parents. I felt Gemma pull my hand to try and get me to sit down but I pulled out of her grip.

"Honey sit down" Ma said calmly "after everything that has happened with the outlaws and the townships, the government and wealth' thought it was best. And it's not just that, more people are moving subsea lately, so they also want to make sure it's safe." After a moment she added, "we will be going topside in a few days, but for now we want you to pack a few things you would like to bring while we're there. Your father and I Already thought this through so don't worry about anything."

I sat down, trying to calm down a bit.

"How are we going to stay topside for two days? Are we just going to sleep on the benches?" Zoe asked.

"No" pa answered quickly. Then he added, "the wealth' will be paying for a hotel for us. We know it might be a little hard on you to stay topside for so long, but you and Gemma can still go diving, as long as you don't go too close to benthic territory. And, if you do go diving, you will have to be back at the hotel by 6:00 o'clock."

"How will all of us be able to fit in a small hotel?" I asked

"We will figure that out once we get there," Ma said.

"Now no more questions, go to your rooms and start packing." Pa said calmly.

I got up weakly. I didn't want to go and pack. I can already imagine all the crowds and all the people and pedestrians. I can barely be topside a few hours. I knew that I'll be diving but it'll still be just a few hours and with all the people I knew Ma and Pa were going to be a little strict about it. I just needed to try and clear my thoughts. I just went into my room and started packing.

a few minutes later I heard a knock on my door and saw Gemma walk in. She didn't really have anything to pack since most of her stuff was still in a duffle bag.

"You ok?" She asked

I shook my head. "Don't you think it's a little suspicious that all of a sudden the wealth' and the government want to inspect Benthic territory?"

"Ty it'll be fine" she walked towards me and saw the the huge bag I was packing. "Don't you think your packing a lot for just a couple days?"

"I don't know. I just want to make sure I don't end up forgetting anything."

The rest of the day seemed to have past by pretty fast. It was already midnight and yet I still couldn't sleep. I just couldn't stop thinking about everything.


	2. Topside

I got up from a noise from outside. It was 2:00 AM. I got up and walked down stairs to see what made that loud noise. Maybe it was one of Zoe's pets. I looked out and I just saw a couple subs. They were probably going to the trade station early. I went to go walk back when I saw something on the couch. It was Gemma.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked

She looked at me and met my gaze. She looked really tired.

"I couldn't sleep. Zoe's pets are being loud. I came out here to sleep on the couch but I couldn't."

"Want to come sleep in my room?" The words came out before I could think about it. I didn't want anything to be weird. "We can put the couch cushions on the floor and add a few sheets."

Gemma smiled "Sure, if it's ok with you"

The next couple of days past by really fast. It was now midnight and yet I still couldn't sleep. It has been like this since I found out we had to go topside for a couple days. Tomorrow was the day we go topside. I was a little nervous but I knew it was only two days and it will go by fast - hopefully. I saw that Gemma couldn't sleep either.

"What do you think we're going to do once were topside?" My voice seemed to startle her a little. She probably thought I was a sleep.

She shrugged. "We're probably just going to go diving. Maybe I can show you a few things that's on the topside. I'm actually a little excited about it."

I wasn't surprised that Gemma was a little excited. She did live topside her whole life up until four months ago. Other than the time she moved out from subsea and came back two weeks ago.

"Can't sleep?" I asked changing the subject.

She shook her head. Then we heard another noise from outside. We both got up and went down stairs. It was another sub passing by.

"Why are so many subs passing by?" Gemma whispered so she wouldn't wake anyone up

"Their probably leaving early to go to the trade station" I whispered back

"Why are so many subs leaving early?" She asked

"What do you mean?"

"A couple nights ago, when I came down here to sleep on the couch, I saw a a lot of subs passing by. Why are some of the subs leaving now?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Maybe the government sent skimmers to come down and make sure that everyone is gone by tomorrow" I wasn't sure if that was true, but it didn't matter right now.

It was morning. I got up to see if ma had made breakfast. When I got up I almost fell on Gemma, forgetting that she was there. That woke her up.

We got ready and went down stairs. I froze. Instead of seeing Ma make breakfast, I saw ma and pa with their dive skins a on, getting bags near the moon pool. It was huge deja vu. I felt my heart pump fast. This was the exact same thing I saw - six years ago, when I had to go topside to go to the hospital to get tested, when I was nine. I saw Gemma stare at me from the tip of my eye.

"Are you ok?" She asked frowning at me.

I met her gaze. It was hard getting the words out. This was like repeating the beginning of the nightmare from when I was nine.

"It's nothing" I said slowly. I knew I was probably glowing. I also knew that Gemma wouldn't believe me.

"Ty what's wrong?"

I sighed. "This reminds me of when I was nine, and I had to go topside to get tested." I said slowly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry"

That's when pa noticed us. "Good morning kids. Put on your dive skins, we'll be leaving soon"

I came back down stairs and saw that ma and pa were putting on their helmets. I also saw that Zoe had woken up and she was already in her dive skin next to Ma and Pa. Gemma and I grabbed a helmet and put them on. We all went to the family sub. Zoe, Gemma, and I sat on the bench while ma and pa piloted the sub.

As soon as I saw the hotel room, I wanted to go back in the ocean. Since the water has risen up, the space was pretty limited. So, I already expected the hotel to be small. The living room was small and square. There were a couple picture frames on the wall. The living room Also had a small table in the middle with two chairs on each side. There was no kitchen. There was also a small counter with a microwave and a coffee pot. On the far right from the entrance, there were two doors. One was probably the bathroom and the other the bedroom.

"Where are we going to sleep?" Zoe asked.

It took a moment until ma answered. "Zoe, you will sleep with your father and I in the room. I'll put sheets and pillows on the floor so Ty and Gemma can sleep here, in the living room.


	3. Albino?

Gemma and I walked to the trade _station_ and got our sub. I was not going to be stuck in that hotel room all day. I went through the first hatch and Gemma followed. I piloted the sub to go deep subsea because I wanted to find something antique. Gemma and I stayed quiet, she was paying attention to the ocean. Everything in the ocean is so interesting to her. I like just watching her face sparkle when she sees something so _pretty_ in the ocean - A gem o' the ocean.

Thats when I noticed Gemma frowning at me.

"what?" I asked

"Where are we going?"

Then I realized that I had piloted the sub to go to our last destination -home, which is in Benthic Territory. I quickly stopped the sub but we were already on Benthic Territory. I was about to turn around when something cought my eye. A sub. What was a sub still doing in benthic territory? It shouldn't be a skimmer because everybody had already left. It also _wasn't_ a government sub. I put on my helmet and went towards the hatch. I wanted to get a better look at what was happening.

"Where are you going?" Gemma asked

"I just want to get a better look at Benthic Territory." I answered

I sucked in a liquidgen pack and filled my lungs. I went through the hatch and fell into the water. I sent clicks out towards Benthic Territory. In my head I saw a lot of subs. Weren't they supposed to be gone by now? Why were there so many subs still here. Then I remembered how subs starting showing up only 3 days ago. Was something going on? I went back through the hatch and went in the sub. I took a deep breath to take away all the liquidgen.

"Ty what did you see?"

"There were just a lot of subs but, there shouldn't be any. Their not government subs and there still shouldn't be skimmers."

"Let's go deeper"

I knew Gemma was tough. I didn't want to have to get in trouble either. But I also didn't want anything happening to Benthic Territory. And if anything does happen we can just say we were about to leave.

I brought the sub a little closer inside Benthic Territory. I got close enough to a sub to peek what was inside. Gemma flipped her helmet on. We both sucked in liquidgen so that our lungs won't collapse from the pressure. We both went through the hatch and fell into the water. We both also put our helmet lights on medium so that we can see but not catch any attention. We swam a little closer to the subs. I sent out clicks to see how many subs were around us.

What came back to me made me freeze. I would've yelled if I didn't have any liquidgen in my lungs. I tried signing to Gemma rapid fast to go in the sub but she didn't understand anything I was trying to say. I wanted to swim to the sub but I couldn't leave her behind. And then I saw it. Not with my clicks, but close enough to see with my eyes. A shark.

Then that's when Gemma saw it. She was absolutely terrified of sharks. I saw through her helmet that she was pale and sweating. Then I knew I only had one thing to do. I have to use my gift. I tried amping up my sonar to shoot the shark. I knew that it probably won't work. And if it did work I didn't know if it would be long enough to go back in the sub. Also, if I shot my sonar to the shark, it would probably affect Gemma too. I didn't have time to think anymore. This was all happening too fast. I sent sonar to the shark full blast. It didn't work. Then the shark started to slow down. What was happening? I looked over at Gemma. She was curled up into a ball. She was pale and shivering. Then I saw that the shark had been shot. I knew that at any moment the shark was going to attack us. I grabbed Gemma's hand and swam up to our sub as fast as possible. I glanced over my shoulder for a split second and I sent clicks out. In my head I saw that someone had shot the shark again. That will give us more time. Gemma and I went through the hatch and sucked in oxygen to evaporate the liquidgen. I went over to pilot the sub to go back to the trade station. Then before The sub can move, I felt the whole sub shake. The shark. I moved the sub to go straight. And then I saw who shot the sub. There was a big white figure. An albino. Shade. I knew the sub wouldn't last long. Just then I felt the whole sub shake again. Gemma noticed the figure too. Even though she was pale and Shaking, I saw her face lit up when she saw shade. I turned around and I saw that the shark had hit us right in between the pilot control area and the main room. So we weren't able to detach the rooms. There was a whole and water was leaking in. I pushed the sub to go towards the white figure. Then I saw the _Specter_.

"We're going in the _Specter,_ Suck in liquidgen."

She nodded, and we both sucked in liquidgen. I opened the hatch and saw that the shark was about 10 feet away from us. I also saw that the shark was shot again. We swam towards the specter. We saw shade go through the hatch and Gemma and I went in after him. We took in a deep breath to take away the liquidgen. I saw shade change back to black with tattoos on his arm. The albino was now gone. I also saw Pretty and Eel stare at us with a surprised and confused look in their faces. Shade was looking at Gemma to see if she was ok. I knew he had to be worried since the shark almost killed his sister.

"Are you guys alright?" Shade asked. I forgot how low his voice was. I wondered what he'll do if I asked him to talk like Richard.

"We're ok" I answered for Gemma. I could tell she couldn't talk because she was still in shock. Then sadness swept through me. Gemma had a panic attack. I felt so bad for her.

"What were you guys doing out there?"

"We were trying to see what all the subs were doing here" I answered

I saw Pretty frown. He walked up to join the conversation. "What do you mean?"

Now it made since why the seablite gang was still here even though we were supposed to go topside. Since they were trying not be seen, they probably never knew that they were supposed to go topside.

"The government and wealth decided that they wanted to inspect Benthic Territory so that they can make sure it's safe. They wanted everyone in Benthic Territory to go topside for a couple days. Gemma and I were close by so we wanted to see why there were still subs here. Everyone was supposed to be gone by this morning" After a moment I added, "what were you guys doing here?" I didn't know why they would want to be here, close to so many subs. I knew they wouldn't want to be seen or else they can go to jail.

I saw Hatchet in the back smile at us. Of course he was just showing off his shark-like teeth. Then I saw Shade turn around and look at Pretty. After that I automatically knew. They were planning on robbing one of these subs. I looked over at Gemma and saw that she was still shivering. Shade looked over at Gemma too. He left and got Gemma a blanket.

"You two can go in the central room for now. We'll drop you guys off at the trade station in a couple hours," Shade said.

"What time is it?" I asked

"'Bout five," Pretty answered. We had to be back by six

"Can you drop us off at the trade station now?"

Shade looked over at Eel. Eel shook his head. Then Shade looked back at me.

"We have work to do" he answered.

Yeah and by work you mean rob, I thought. This was definitely going to be a problem, knowing that ma and pa were going to be a little strict on topside.


	4. Specter

I was already thinking of the things ma and pa would say. How many rules did I break today? I went to Benthic Territory, I ruined the sub, (thank goodness it wasn't the family sub) and I'm going to be home past 6:00 o'clock. Which, will make them worry. Gemma was better but she was still a little shaken up. Also, there was something going on at Benthic Territory. How much worst can this day get? I guess I'll find out when I get home.

"I'm so sorry" Gemma whispered when i walked in the central room.

"Why are you sorry?"

She rolled her eyes and smirked a little, "you know exactly why I'm sorry Ty. I told you to go deeper into Benthic Territory. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have gone and we wouldn't have almost gotten eaten by a shark."

"I'm the one who got us there anyways. And I would've gone there whether you were there or not"

Shade walked in. Gemma gave him a huge smile. Why didn't I ask Shade to come in before? Last time we saw Shade, she never really had a chance to talk to him. Shade looked like he was in a good mood so I thought, why not ask him a simple question.

"Can you change into Richard?" I asked. Shade and Gemma both gave me a look. Now I wish I never asked. A moment later, a white ball formed on Shades hand and it started to crawl up his wrist up to his arm. It started to spread throughout his whole body. Before I knew it, Richard was standing in front of me. With his pale skin and freckles, he looked a lot like Gemma. I looked over at her and I saw her mouth hang open. She got up and gave him a hug. She hasn't seen the 'real' Richard in a long time. I was glad I asked him to change his skin. I got up and left the room so that they can catch up on everything.

About an hour has passed by. I wasn't even sure if we were close to the trade station.

"Where are we?" I asked

"Almost there, kid" Eel relied

I sighed. It has been a very boring hour. I walked into the central room to see what Gemma was up to. She was sitting there, thinking.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked

She looked at me and met my gaze, "what do you think those subs were doing?"

I already thought about it. I didn't know. "I'm going to have to go back somehow and see what's going on."

"Do you think the wealth' is stealing props?"

"I'm not sure" I said thoughtfully

"Wait, are you going to tell your parents on what's happening? If you do I doubt they will let us go back there"

I knew she was right. I did want to tell ma and pa. But if I do they most likely won't let us come back to Benthic Territory. If I don't, then Gemma and I will have to figure this out our selfs.

"I won't tell my parents about us coming here. But i will tell them about all the subs we saw last night and the other night."

She nodded in agreement. I walked over to her and sat next to her.

"Ty?" Gemma said slowly, after a moment

"Yeah?" I asked

"What if Richard wasn't there to save us? What would've happened?"

I felt bad for her. I knew she was tough but since she's lived on the topside her whole life, she always heard these rumors and scary stories about the ocean. So she's scared of some of the creatures in the ocean. I didn't know what to say to her right now though. I didn't want to lie to her and I didn't want to tell her that if Shade wasn't there to save us, we probably wouldn't be here right now.

"I'm sorry" I managed to say. I looked up at her and saw that she was really tired. She leaned in next to me and put her head on my shoulder. Then she closed her eyes. I was also really tired too since neither of us have actually been able to sleep at night. Before I knew it, we were both asleep.

I woke up to Hatchet, Pretty, and Shade starring at us. I quickly jumped up as realization hit me. How long have we been asleep? What time was it? Gemma hopped up too and I can tell she was thinking the same thing. Then I felt embarrassed. How long have they been watching us? I looked over at Gemma and saw that she was blushing.

"What time is it?" Gemma asked before I can

"Eight" Pretty answered. Then he added "We came in here to eat dinner, but we didn't want to disturb you." Pretty said with a smirk on his face. As if he couldn't make me more embarrassed. I met Hatchet's gaze and saw that he was starring at me.

"Your glowing" hatchet said, answering my thought. I guess I can get more embarrassed.

Shade stayed quiet. Then I noticed that the sub wasn't moving.

"Are we at the trade station?" I asked

"We've been here for half an hour" hatchet answered.

"Why didn't you wake us up?"

Hatchet looked at Pretty and shrugged. I flipped my helmet on and went for the hatch. Gemma quickly said bye to Shade and we both left. Shade was probably angry.


End file.
